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Bulldogs serving NLI probation
Basketball team's recruitment of Cooper draws penalty from National Letter of Intent group
By Ian R. Rapoport
irapopor@clarionledger.com
STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State basketball program committed a violation of the National Letter of Intent program's rules last year while recruiting Louisiana high school star Kenneth Cooper.
That is why the MSU athletic department is on National Letter of Intent probation, documents obtained by The Clarion-Ledger show.
The probation began July 5, 2005, and lasts for one year. If the university is found to be in further violation of National Letter of Intent (NLI) policy during the probation period, it will not be allowed to sign prospects to letters of intent in any sport for one signing year.
More than 500 schools participate in the NLI program. Administered by the Collegiate Commissioners Association, it allows schools and prospects to make binding agreements for one year.
Without the ability to sign players to binding letters of intent, a school would be at risk of losing signees to other schools before they reach campus in the fall.
Since the NLI program operates independently of the NCAA , MSU's actions did not violate NCAA policy, said Greg Sankey, the Southeastern Conference's associate commissioner for compliance.
The NCAA enforcement staff in November made an initial inquiry into the recruiting practices of State's basketball program, requesting paperwork for recruiting trips made by coach Rick Stansbury and his assistants. One of the players involved was Cooper, now a freshman at Oklahoma State.
Templeton
Asked if the NLI violation involving Cooper is what the NCAA is looking into, MSU athletic director Larry Templeton said: "To my knowledge, it is not."
The NCAA does not comment on specific enforcement cases.
According to documents obtained by The Clarion-Ledger through the Mississippi Public Records Act, State violated an NLI rule by having "recruiting contact" with Cooper and his family after Cooper had signed an NLI with Oklahoma State in November of 2004.
According to documents, Oklahoma State officials filed a complaint with the National Letter of Intent program, which then launched an investigation.
Requests to interview Cooper, made through the OSU media relations department, were denied. Coaches Eddie Sutton and Sean Sutton would not comment.
According to a letter sent by the NLI program to Templeton, Cooper filed an appeal to be released from his letter of intent to OSU. While that appeal was pending, Cooper and his family made an "unofficial" recruiting visit to the Starkville campus on Feb. 25-27, 2005.
Cooper received complimentary tickets to the MSU-Ole Miss basketball game on Feb. 26, according to MSU records.
"When we received the call that he wanted tickets to a game, we went right to the MSU compliance office," Stansbury said. "It was all approved. That's why we did it."
MSU coordinator of compliance Bracky Brett said he told Stansbury he could provide the Coopers with tickets, which is not an NLI violation.
Stansbury said he treated Cooper's appearance on campus like any other unofficial visit.
Under NCAA rules, prospects making unofficial visits are responsible for their travel, lodging and dining expenses, while the school picks up the tab during an official visit. Prospects are allowed to make one official visit to as many as five schools. Cooper made an official visit to MSU on Oct. 30, 2004.
According to records, Cooper's family stayed at a residents hall on campus during his unofficial visit. On Sunday, the family ate breakfast with members of the MSU coaching staff. While Brett said the family paid its own expenses, the NLI program deemed the extra time spent with the family a violation of the recruiting ban.
The NCAA defines recruiting as: "Any solicitation of a prospect or a prospect's family by an institutional staff member or by a representative of the institution's athletics interests for the purpose of securing the prospect's enrollment. ..."
Among the 20 provisions of the NLI program is an understanding that schools are obligated to cease recruitment once a prospect signs a letter of intent.
"Between when they sign and when school starts, the only thing out there (governing and protecting) athletes is the NLI program," said Torie Johnson, director of the NLI program.
Brett said that as far as he knows, this is MSU's first NLI probation.
Johnson wouldn't say what other schools are on NLI probation, though she said allegations involving the recruiting ban are the most frequent claims.
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Now, I seem to recall some folks dressed in maroon tossing a BIG HEAP of criticism toward Coach O when he and another assistant called an assistant at Tulane with respect to possible future recruitment of some of Tulane's players in the event Tulane shut down its football program in the wake of Katrina. Under the circumstances that occurred, we now know that no violations of SEC or NCAA rules occurred with this contact.
And now, lo and behold, we find out that even while all this criticism was being leveled against Coach O, MSU had been doing much, much worse in continuing to recruit a basketball players who had already signed a NLI with OSU. HHmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
This is a PERFECT example of why it is best to make sure your own backyard is clean, before suggesting that someone else has a problem with theirs. A little obsession with what is happening right under your noses in Starkville, as opposed to what is happening in Oxford, might be a good future strategy.
Off my stump now.
